Life, 1906-08-02 · page 23 of 40
Life — August 2, 1906 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents two character types from Oliver Herford's satirical alphabet series. **Q (The Quoter)** depicts someone who constantly cites favorite authors but contributes nothing original—merely a "second-hand dealer in Light," borrowing others' brilliance without genuine thought. **R (The Rabid Reformer)** mocks reform-minded writers whose well-intentioned prose is so tedious it puts readers to sleep ("health-giving doze"), and whose preachy intensity makes them socially unpleasant—slamming doors as they leave. The accompanying pieces mock wealthy industrialists' selective charity (H.H. Rogers' church windows), transactional business mentality, and early automobile culture's recklessness. The "Advice to Authors" references Upton Sinclair's muckraking *The Jungle*, suggesting his exposés made more money than actual reform achieved.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-LIFE: AN ALPHABET OF By OLiver HERFoRD IS a Quoter who'll cite His favorite authors all night; Tho’ glowing with Thought, Like the Moon he is naught But a second-hand dealer in Light. In Remembrance of Him RULY, there must be an uplift about the memorial windows which Mr. H. H. Rogers has caused to be put in the church back in Fairhaven, especially the pieces which illustrate the Sermon on the Mount. If we are not to have the Sermon on the Mount in business, the next best medium, perhaps, is stained glass. And who will say that Christ lived in vain when worldly men go to such enormous expense to celebrate the incidents of His sublunary career? If Mr. Rogers has not laid out as much money for the windows as it would cost him to do as he would be done by, let us refiect that with all the adverse influences working against Standard Oil, very likely he did not feel as if he could afford the more splendid memorial at this time. The humble and the contrite heart is, unfortunately, less and less within the reach of any but the very poorest. Business Is Business GotRox: What are your lowest terms as a son-in-law? Count: One million. “All right; I’llsign a check to-morrow.” “And how soon shall I marry your daughter?” “Oh, you won’t marry her; I’m going to hold you fora rise and sell you to some- body else.” Advice to Authors Apter should be particular about the kinds of pens he selects. Upton Sinclair chose the Chicago pens and is making a fortune out of them. ’S a Rabid Reformer whose prose Insures you a health-giving doze; One I wouldn’t much mind If he’d only be kind, And not slam the door when he goes. Mottoes for Autoists PPORTUNITY makes the scorcher. An auto by another name would smell as sweet. It’s easier for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven than for a fat man to mend his own bubble. Automobiling should begin at home, but it shouldn’t end there. Motor in haste, repent in jail. It’s a wise child that knows its own father—in motor regalia. Motors should be seen and not smelt. A little nail is a dangerous thing. Spare the machine and spoil the child. “T WANTED my voice tried.” “Well, I've tried it, and I find it guilty of tonal murder in the first degree.” comicbooks.com